NEWS

Mumbai International Airport Limited unveils ambitious bid plans for all new Terminal 2

INDIA. Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) today released full details through The Moodie Report of its forthcoming Request for Proposals (RFP) programme for the duty free, speciality retail, advertising and food & beverage concessions in the all-new Terminal 2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Sahar, Mumbai.

Details of the RFP include the process, the timeline and the airport’s heady ambitions for the project, which it believes will set a new benchmark for Indian travel retail.

Requests for Quotations (RFQ) for Advertising and Food & Beverage have already been issued. The RFQ for duty free and speciality retail will be issued this week. There will be a site visit in August for qualified parties, with RFPs to follow after.

The artist's renderings on this page underline the quality of offer and environment Mumbai International Airport Limited is aspiring to at the spectacular all new Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2

The integrated T2 features a common domestic and international check-in and will open on a phased basis, beginning with international operations in September 2013, This will include all international retail from duty free and speciality retail, to food & beverage and lounges. Domestic operations, aeronautical and commercial, will commence in 2014.

Following 15 months of intensive research and analysis of the impending opportunity MIAL said it is actively encouraging highly competitive, enlightened bids across the key commercial sectors.

While the time line is tight, MIAL said in an extensive interview with The Moodie Report that interested parties would benefit from the enormous amount of information it has gathered in critical areas such as consumer research, commercial benchmarking and space layouts.

A WORLD-CLASS OPPORTUNITY

The airport company emphasised that it has the commercial aspirations befitting a “world-class vision and world-class terminal design” for T2. Both have been tailored to the rapidly rising expectations of a new generation of consumers from India’s burgeoning middle class.

MIAL believes that the concept of world-class travel retail in India was born out of the privatisation of key airports in recent years and accelerated by the opening of Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3. MIAL now wants to take that evolution to a new level.

Mumbai, considered “creative, cosmopolitan, casual and the vibrant side of India”, has considerable latent airport retail potential simply waiting to be tapped MIAL said, provided the right infrastructure is developed.

Several key themes have been central to MIAL’s work to date on the project and its aspirations for the ultimate commercial offer delivered by operators. They include:

UNDERSTANDING THE PASSENGER MIX

MIAL says that while many operators are familiar with the habits of Indian travellers around the world, in key locations such as Singapore Changi, London Heathrow, Dubai International and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airports, the airport company has also conducted extensive surveys to help understand what these travellers expect when they are at home, in Mumbai airport.

A new and growing generation of Indian travellers is also emerging. They are emanating from the country’s burgeoning middle class, characterised by increasing income levels and expectations.
Extensive MIAL research has helped create a rich understanding of how to address the airport’s customers, it noted.

DEVELOPING THE OPTIMUM MIX

Getting the product selection and mix right will be crucial in maximising revenues and satisfying consumer desires, MIAL said.

It said that for Mumbai airport travellers, factors such as experience, service and convenience are just as important as a wide product offer. As a result, it noted, focusing on the marketing packaging is as key as the brand mix (“in short, how you deliver is as key as what you are offering” MIAL commented).

MIAL aspires to delivering a retail proposition which combines “innovation, service and experiences”, the company told The Moodie Report.

"How you deliver is as key as what you are offering"

Mumbai International Airport Limited

This will mean expanding the breadth and depth of the consumer offer through the addition of new retail categories.

ENSURING FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CONCESSION MODEL

Adopting modern ‘Trinity’ thinking, MIAL said it wants to ensure that the concession strategy (including the RFP packages) encourages all the experiences and service levels mentioned earlier, while ensuring financial sustainability for operators.

To deliver this it is offering:
i. Large packages
ii. Long-term contracts

OPTIMISING THE COMMERCIAL ENVIRONMENT

"Our vision is to create a premium environment with high service quality levels, similar to a boutique hotel"

Mumbai International Airport Limited

The airport company, its concessionaires and travelling consumers will also benefit from optimum planning & design of the retail environment. Key elements include:
• A core ‘central processor’, ensuring that 100% of the passengers are exposed to the retail space
• Retail units located on primary flow routes to maximise the passenger penetration
• Unobstructed visibility of the retail frontage with clear sight lines to shop fronts as passengers walk through the terminal
• A highly attractive environment and design that promotes activity and engagement with the retail offer and encourages customers to spend
• Easy access to retail units situated adjacent to primary passenger flow routes
• Variety and depth of in-store footprints to allow optimum range and mix of retail units
• Importantly, a strong Sense of Place and spirit of Mumbai

A TRUE TERMINAL 2 VISION

MIAL believes the new integrated Terminal 2 will be a landmark which will redefine the city as “the place to be”.

Inspiring architecture, meticulous planning, state-of-the-art technology and excellent service standards are integral to the new terminal

“Our vision is to create a premium environment with high service quality levels, similar to a boutique hotel,” MIAL said. “One important aspect is how to make our customers feel welcome, cared-for and considered.”